Salmon Lemon & Dill

I vacationed in Sweden one year and ate Salmon everyday, each time cooked in a different way…I fell in love with this fish all over again. This recipe is not a traditional Swedish one but you could say that it has Swedish influences. The Swedes always use dill with their Salmon and I think it is one of the herbs that best suits this flavourful fish. Plus I also noticed that all the women where breathtaking, so I figured there had to be something in the salmon that made them so beautiful.

So with the stunning Swedish women in mind I remind myself that it’s that time of the year again when I look at the calendar and think, “alright I have 3 months to get in shape or I will be dreading the days when the kids are excited and want to go to the beach (and I’m not Swedish.)”

With this recipe I would like to prepare my waistline for the summer, and yours too…Oh and if you are one of those skinny people that no matter what you eat stays skinny, just know that there are people out there who don’t like you...but I still will : )

I love salmon because it is a very flavorful fish, full of Omega 3, Vitamin D, Zinc and Potassium. It can be cooked in thousands of different ways…I just love it! It is also a fish that once kids try it they actually enjoy it. I like to stress the fact that it has phosphorus, it’s good for our little brains and will make us do our homework faster!!!

The way I make mine is in the oven (I like to cook many meats and vegetables in the oven by baking them wrapped up and sealed in foil), it’s a nice way to keep the salmon lean as it does have fat, but good fat… I also like the fact that salmon keeps me full for a longer time than any other fish.

Now to Prepare our 'Salmon Lemon & Dill'…

Ingredients:

Salmon - however many pieces, I usually do one per person (if you have left over save it, as there are other dishes that are great the next day when salmon is cooked this way)

2 shallots

1 garlic clove

Dill

Juice from 1/2 a lemon

1/2 cup of white wine – (this is optional as the wine adds extra sugar)

Salt & pepper (I add a little garlic salt for taste just because I’m addicted to the stuff, you don’t have to, if it’s not to your liking)

Olive oil

Foil

Cut the shallots on a diagonal, they look nicer, and leave the garlic relatively large so you can remove it afterwards. Chop the dill or if you like leave it whole, so you can also remove it when serving it…another option for the dill is to cut it up finely, place it in a small bowl with lemon juice and olive oil and mix it together, then drizzle it on the fish.

Place the salmon flat on the foil, do not remove the skin but do wash it in case there are some scales left on the skin.

Drizzle a bit of olive oil on all the pieces of salmon (a drizzle, as the salmon will release it's own oils while it is cooking.)

Then add the ½ glass of wine, lemon juice, freshly cut dill, garlic and shallots over the salmon…and add some salt and pepper… you can even cut a wedge of lemon and put it off to one side inside the foil with the fish. Now seal the fish tightly, make sure the oven is at about 180 to 200 degrees. It will only take 15-20 minutes max to cook, depending on the thickness of the fish. In the meantime you can make some Basmati rice.

Here is how I make my Basmati Rice…

Ingredients:

1 Cup of Basmati Rice

1/4 of a yellow onion

1 garlic clove 

Chop 1/4 of an onion and a garlic clove…

In a small deep pot add olive oil…allow for the oil to heat up, then add the chopped onion and garlic.

Cook until the onions start to soften and pour the cup of rice in…stir so that the rice absorbs the oil (you must constantly stir the rice vigorously so that it does not stick.) Once the rice has been covered with the oil and the onion and garlic add the 1 1/2 cups of water. At this stage I add a bit of salt so that my rice is not bland. 

Cover the pot, lower the heat and let it cook for about 15 minutes. NEVER STIR THE RICE WHILE IT IS COOKING…
Once the rice has absorbed the water, leaving it dry and the kernels loose from one another, you will know it is ready...(if it is still raw just add a bit more water and keep the lid on the pot the entire time it's cooking.)

If you want to add more veggies to the rice you can do so when you are simmering the onions and garlic, a nice touch can be red or green peppers (they add colour and make the rice really tasty)…and no you don’t need to add more water than for one 1 cup of rice 1 ½ cups of water.

Hope you enjoy and always remember that the culprit of weight gain is in the quantity of food we eat. So have fun with the recipe, don’t have too much rice and always add a plain side salad for extra greens.

Enjoy!